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A blog of all section with no images
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Horde VS. Alliance F.A.Q. |
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Written by Robbie
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Monday, 24 October 2005 |
Who are the Horde and Alliance?The Horde and Alliance are the two sides battling for control of the world. In years past, they fought brutal wars against each other, but today, they have settled into a tenuous stalemate. Occasional skirmishes still erupt between the two sides, but open warfare is no longer raging across the continents. Still, the Horde and Alliance are hostile to each other, and members of one faction are never welcome in the cities of the other. The eight races you can play in the game are split equally between these two sides. Alliance: Humans, Dwarves, Night Elves, Gnomes, DraeniHorde: Orcs, Tauren, Trolls, Undead, Blood Elf Will players have the ability to change factions (for example: from Horde to Alliance)?No. Can the same account have both a Horde and Alliance character on the same Realm?On normal servers this is possible, but on player-vs.-player servers (PvP) it is not. Can players trade with members of the opposite faction?No. In general, you cannot trade with players of the opposing faction. However, you can place items up for auction at the neutral auction house in the goblin city of Gadgetzan in Southern Kalimdor. Players from either faction can bid on these items, meaning you can buy from opposing players at this neutral auction house. Will Horde and Alliance characters have the ability to gain faction points, thus allowing them to utilize each other's cities?You cannot switch sides. Thus, you cannot make use of the opposing faction's cities. |
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Written by Robbie
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Monday, 24 October 2005 |
Gaining HonorWhat is the Honor System?
The Honor System allows players to gain rankings based on their PvP performance, with lucrative rewards for those who distinguish themselves on the field of battle! Read more about the PvP Honor System. How do I gain rank in the Honor System?
Players advance in rank by helping to defeat players of the opposite faction (Horde/Alliance), or by vanquishing special target NPC's in the game, which ultimately confers honor.
The amount of damage a player deals to their target determines the amount of honor they earn. Contributing more damage yields more points, and less honor yields fewer points. Causing slight damage to multiple targets may not net as many points as causing severe damage to a single target. Also, the target must die and the kill must be honorable in order for honor points to be awarded.
What is an honorable kill?
An honorable kill occurs when a player takes part in the killing of an appropriate player or NPC in the player's level range. The color system for players works the same as it does for monsters. Grey level players will not yield an honorable kill.
Also, only specific NPC's will yield honorable kills. These are special target NPC's that are extremely difficult for players to attack, as they are some of the main leaders of each player faction. Defeating these NPC's will require a large force of players.
What is a 'Dishonorable kill'?
Any NPC that is marked with the green word 'Civilian' in its tooltip is considered a 'dishonorable kill'. The 'Civilian' marking will be applied to general NPC's such as vendors and quest NPCs as the level of the player begins to exceed the level of the NPC. This means that players of the appropriate level are allowed to kill general NPC's that are considered to present a fair fight.
Can I earn honor if I am in a group?
Yes. When grouped with other players, honor are divided equally amongst the members of the party. Just like in groups for killing monsters, players can gain bonus experience for killing players while in a group. If the character levels of some group members are significantly higher than others, the amount of honor gained by the lower level members will be reduced, just like it is with monster experience.
What if I do less damage than the rest of my group, say through healing, damage over time, or area-of-effect spells? Do I still get the same amount of honor as my group?
Yes. Players who are grouped in a party equally split the honor they earn. The Priest who heals will receive an equal share of points as the Warrior who is swinging away at the target.
What happens if we take out a faction leader in a raid group? Who gets the honor?
Members of the raid group that taps the creature will share the honor points equally. The points will be distributed the same way as experience points. It should be noted, however, that strategic targets are there to promote conflict and role-play between the Alliance and Horde, so players will find that killing enemy leaders will not be a disproportionately large source of honor.
If I am a raid leader, will I receive more honor than other non-leader raid group members?
No. Honor is divided equally among all raid-party members.
If I am on the other end of the battlefield as my party or raid group, will I still get honor for any kills they make?
No. Earning honor falls within the normal rules of experience gain. Players must be in the general area to receive the honor.
How many points do I need to get my next rank?
This is one area where the PvP and normal experience system differ. There is no set amount of honor needed to reach a certain level. The PvP ranking system is based on the number of players engaging in PvP combat, and how good each player is in relation to other players.
Think of the PvP rankings as a curve, where the highest ranks will encompass the top percentage of players. While there are a finite amount of players who can be in the top ranks, the actual number will depend on how many other characters on the server are involved in PvP. The more players competing, the more players will be able to reach the top ranks.
How does my PvP Rank update?
PvP ranks are compiled once a week, and will coincide with the weekly server maintenance. There is a minimum number of honorable kills per week required for eligibility; this number is flexible and depends on the average number of honorable kills for your realm that week.
Based on the number of honor received per week and the amount of people involved in PvP combat, a rating value is assessed for each player. This value is used to determine progression through the PvP ranks.
Will I get credit for killing guards?
Based on player feedback we have decided to no longer award honorable kills for killing NPCs that are not racial leaders. This will prevent players from feeling as though they need to "grind" NPC kills for honor. This change will also help the honorable kill totals mean more than they otherwise would.
What happens if I am fighting a player and that player runs away, then another player or group finds the player and kills him or her? Do I get any honor having damaged the player first?
No. If a player does not take damage for 1 minute since the last time they were attacked in PvP, any damage done by the first player is null and void. The next player or group who finds and kills the target gets the credit.
Will there be additional honor gained for rapid-fire killing? For instance, three honorable kills in thirty seconds.
There are no current plans to reward players for going on killing sprees, other than the normal honor they earn.
Will there be a survival bonus? For instance, each kill beyond the first without dying equates to more honor.
This will not be a feature upon initial implementation of the Honor System, but is a possible candidate for continued refinement.
So far it seems like the Honor System is designed for players who can devote large amounts of time to the game. What if I am a casual player who cannot devote so much time?
Since the majority of players in WoW are casual gamers, the majority of player will be competing against players of a similar skill level and playtime. We expect many players to be surprised at how viable they will be in the Honor System.
RewardsWhat incentives do I have to gain high ranks in the Honor System?
By killing other players and racking up honor, players will gain access to the Officer's barracks in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Each new rank players gain will open up new items, weapons, and armor for them to use. Along with the new items players will also have their current Honor Rank displayed for all to see. Here is a list of the ranks and rewards given per rank:  | |  | | | | Rank | Icon | Alliance Title | Horde Title | Reward |  | | 14 |  | Grand Marshal | High Warlord | Epic-quality weapon and shield | | 13 |  | Field Marshal | Warlord | Epic-quality helm, shoulder armor, and gloves | | 12 |  | Marshal | General | Epic-quality chest armor, leggings, and boots | | 11 |  | Commander | Lieutenant General | Commander's epic mount | | 10 |  | Lieutenant Commander | Champion | Superior-quality helm and shoulder armor | | 9 |  | Knight-Champion | Centurion | Battle standard
 | |  | | Battle Standard
Use: Place a Battle Standard with 1500 health that increases
the maximum health of all party members that stay within 45 yards
of the Battle Standard by 15%. Lasts 2 min. |
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| | 8 |  | Knight-Captain | Legionnare | Superior-quality chest armor and leggings | | 7 |  | Knight-Lieutenant | Blood Guard | Superior-quality boots and gloves | | 6 |  | Knight | Stone Guard | Access to officer's barracks, officer's tabard, and potions | | 5 |  | Sergeant Major | First Sergeant | Superior-quality bracers | | 4 |  | Master Sergeant | Senior Sergeant | Superior-quality necklace | | 3 |  | Sergeant | Sergeant | Superior-quality cloak, 10% discount on all goods and repairs from your faction's NPCs | | 2 |  | Corporal | Grunt | Team insignia trinket | | 1 |  | Private | Scout | Tabard |
| |  | |  | | printable version |
Will the rewards ever include new spells or talents for characters of higher ranks?
No. Currently we do not have any plans to reward players with new talents or spells.
Will my title be visible to those around me?
Yes. Players will be able to see other player titles as part of their names. In addition, players may view others' honor tabs through the inspect feature.
The previews on the website showed a few weapons and armor. Is that all we will be able to obtain?
No. The preview displayed just a few of the rewards. More rewards will be available in game.
Honor DecayOnce I gain Honor, do I keep it indefinitely, or do I have to keep earning it?
The Honor System is created so that players have to continue killing the enemy in order to keep their ranks. If a player does not fight or does not earn as many points from week to week, his or her standing will fluctuate. Over time Honor points will "decay". If a player goes down in ranks, any items or titles he has earned will be taken away until the rank is earned back. What do you mean my Honor points will decay?
There is only a percentage correction between the current honor rating and the new rating. This is because honor points behave more like a rating system than a leveling system.
Does it always correct at the same rate, or do the player's rank/duration away affect it?
Rank changes as a percentage of the difference between a player's current honor rating and his or her current week's honor rating. However, in order to give players a cushion for "off weeks", the correction is substantially faster when a player is increasing their honor rating than it is going down.
Does it decay to zero, or is there some nominal rank it stops at?
Players would typically have to be inactive in PvP for a very long time (months) before they lose all rank.
PenaltiesWhat sort of penalties are there for dishonorable behavior?
We have recently implemented the first steps toward a Dishonor system. Trivial civilian NPCs such as quest givers and vendors give Dishonorable Kills to players who kill them, or who are part of a party that kills them. Are there any places where we can fight that will cause a negative honor gain if you kill the opposing faction? An example would be an Argent Dawn camp?
Not at this time. However, there will be times at which players will be worth no honor. For example, when a player loads into the world by crossing an instance line or logging in, or immediately after landing from a flight, that player will be worth no honor for a short time.
Are there any safe guards in place to prevent players from killing each other to climb up the ranks? For example, "you let me kill you and I will let you kill me" over and over again? That seems like it would be the fastest way to reach the top ranks of the Honor System.
Killing the same player repeatedly will have diminishing returns, so it will not be worthwhile for either player. In addition to that, any players caught participating in behavior described above will be guilty of exploiting the game and will be dealt with accordingly. The system we have in place can track unusual patterns to help expose this behavior.
What if guilds coordinate with each other to "trade" players to kill so they are not always fighting the same player?
Any guilds caught participating in this activity will also be considered exploiting the game and will be penalized accordingly.
If I gain the 5th rank, and I purchase the Bracers as listed in the chart above, what happens if I drop down to the 4th rank. Will I still be able to wear the bracers?
Characters are able to equip gear obtained from honor rewards based on the highest rank that the character has attained in their lifetime.
BattlegroundsHow does the Honor System fit in with the Battlegrounds?
In the Battlegrounds players will be fighting primarily against other players which will net honor. There will also be other methods of earning honor in the Battlegrounds besides player-vs-player battles. Battlegrounds are instances geared towards promoting player-vs-player combat, so players who complete objectives in Battlegrounds will receive honor. How does the PvP system that is being implemented affect the world outside Battlegrounds. In other words, in contested zones will I be able to control graveyards and other key points?
While we are looking to have player-vs-player combat affect the outside world in ways that are interesting and most of all fun to players, this will not be a feature that is included in the initial Honor System or Battleground patches.
Will killing players in the Battlegrounds automatically result in me getting more honor than if I kill someone on the other parts of the realm?
No. However players participating in Battlegrounds can earn honor in other ways besides killing players.
Misc.Will one class have an advantage over the others? Some classes seem to be better equipped for gaining honor than others; was that taken into consideration?
During our testing we did not come across any one class that had a distinct advantage over the others. Each class has an equal chance of rising through the ranks depending on how it is played. Keep in mind that the number of honorable kills that a player makes does not determine the rate at which ranks are gained, only that a fair kill was made. That should help alleviate some of the fears about certain classes being better than others. The more a player participates in player-vs-player battles, the higher the rank will be. Currently the realm crashes if there are too many people in one place, like Tarren Mill. How did you prepare the realms to deal with the added amount of stress that is going to be added with more frequent large scale PvP battles?
For the time being the lag generated will be greater than normal. This should not last very long, as Battlegrounds will be released in the next patch! The Honor System has been anticipated for some time now, and now that it is released everyone is eager to jump in and try it out! Once the Battlegrounds go live they will draw players away from towns like Crossroads and Tarren Mill and into the instanced environments designed to support large scale player-vs-player battles.
It seems that some realms have way more Alliance than Horde members. How will this affect the Honor System ?
Contrary to popular belief, the numbers of Horde and Alliance are very similar on player-vs-player realms. Also, most players will be fighting for honor in Battlegrounds once they are released. The Battlegrounds will have a controlled number on both sides, so the overall realm balance should not affect either faction's abaility to gain Honor.
How am I supposed to play the game when every where I go someone is waiting to gank me? The graveyard is nice, but I want to see the rest of the world too!
Once Battlegrounds are released the amount of player-vs-player conflicts found around the world will most likely decrease significantly. The same goes for ganking found in the contested zones around Azeroth. Fighting in the Battlegrounds will yeild far more honor than fighting anywhere else. With that said, players who chose to create characters on a PvP realm are supposed to feel a sense of danger where ever they go, that is why we offer player-vs-player realms!
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Written by Robbie
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Monday, 24 October 2005 |
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Find the answers to your most frequently asked questions by accessing one of the different topics from the list above.
The In-Game support site has answers to many in-game questions.
What is World of Warcraft?
World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). In World of Warcraft, thousands of players will have the opportunity to adventure together in an enormous, persistent game world, forming friendships, slaying monsters, and engaging in epic quests that can span days or weeks.
What is an MMORPG?
MMORPG stands for massively multiplayer online role-playing game. In an MMORPG, thousands of players exist in the same game world at the same time. This creates an incredibly rich and active environment in which interesting things are constantly taking place. MMORPGs provide thousands of hours of game play, with a nearly infinite variety of goals to achieve across a vast world covering miles of land and sea. For World of Warcraft, we will also be adding new content on a regular basis, thus ensuring that there will always be new adventures, new locations, new creatures, and new items to discover.
How will World of Warcraft differ from other MMORPGs?
World of Warcraft will differ from other MMORPGs in many ways. Players will be able to complete quests and experience the world at their own pace, whether it be a few hours here and there or entire weeks at a time. Additionally, our quest system will provide an enormous variety of captivating quests with story elements, dynamic events, and flexible reward systems. World of Warcraft will also feature a faster style of play, with less downtime and an emphasis on combat and tactics against multiple opponents. We also plan to incorporate several unique features, which we'll disclose throughout the course of development.
Will there be a monthly fee to play the game?
Yes. After the end of the free month included with the game, you will need a subscription in order to continue playing the game. You have three options, as you will see when you create your account: a month-to-month package at $14.99 per month, a three-month plan at $13.99 per month, or a six-month plan at $12.99 per month. Please be aware that the subscription fees for three-month plan and the six-month plan must be paid in full.
Why isn't World of Warcraft free?
World of Warcraft will require a fee to play. This fee will be used to support the costs associated with the high-quality levels of service, support, and ongoing content creation that we are planning for World of Warcraft.
Will there be multiple methods of payment besides just credit cards?
Yes, we plan to support a range of payment methods. In the initial launch regions of North America, Australia, and New Zealand, customers will be able to pay their subscription fees by major credit card, PayPal, and pre-paid game cards. Payment methods in other regions will be announced at a later date.
Note: We are still working with PayPal to allow customers to subscribe using PayPal accounts. Please keep an eye on the main World of Warcraft website for any news on this option once it becomes available.
How will the game be distributed or sold?
Gamers will be able to purchase World of Warcraft at retail outlets, online sites, or directly from Blizzard Entertainment. However, in order to play you will need to sign up for a monthly account.
Will World of Warcraft be playable on a Mac and are people currently testing it on Macs?
Yes, to both. The game will be available on a Mac and there are people currently playing on Macs.
Will I be able to use my World of Warcraft discs on my Mac and PC?
Yes, the discs will be compatible on both Mac and PC.
Can you alt-tab in and out of the game?
Yes, you can also run the game in a window.
What forms of currency will there be?
Currently there is gold, silver, and copper. And in case you were wondering, there are a lot of things you can buy with your money, including training, equipment, profession recipes, profession components, extra space at your bank, and more.
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Written by Robbie
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Monday, 24 October 2005 |
The In-Game Support site has answers to many in-game questions.
Is the game easy to learn how to play?
Yes. We strive to make all of our games easy to learn how to play, yet difficult to master.
Is Blizzard aware of some of the game play problems that have been prevalent in other MMORPGs?
Yes. Blizzard employees are gamers first and foremost, and we have played more than our fair share of existing massively multiplayer games. We tend to agree with MMORPG gamers on the strengths and weaknesses of the genre to date. We have striven to advance the genre with World of Warcraft by building on the positives already established in the genre and eliminating as many of the negatives as possible. We think we've done a successful job, but we hope you will try the game to see for yourself.
How do you prevent camping and kill stealing?
We do several things to limit this problem. First, we have "tapping." If you damage a monster first, you tap it and only you and your party will gain experience and loot from it, even if another player comes in and swipes the kill. We also limit camping and kill-stealing issues by "instancing" certain areas of the game. No other players, unless they are part of your group, can enter your instance of the dungeon/outdoor area. There are also plenty of non-instanced common areas where players can meet and adventure together.
How do you prevent camping and kill stealing in non-instanced areas?
Competition over rare item drops and quest items is the primary cause of camping and kill stealing. In World of Warcraft, many rare item drops are not exclusive to any one creature. Several creatures will have a chance of dropping the same item. If the required item is a quest item, the player can join a group of other players on the same quest and seek the item together with them. Every player on the quest will receive a copy of the quest item from the monster or location where it was found.
Are there other things to do besides leveling?
There is a huge variety of things to do to keep players from feeling like they just have to grind through one creature battle after another. Characters can craft items, fight in vast battles against other players, and explore distant lands. Even when players do fight monsters, it will often be as part of a quest, or in search of special ingredients for their crafts.
Is there a way to finish World of Warcraft? How long can I play?
There are thousands of hours of game play in the shipping game, and nearly infinite goals for players. Because we'll have a live team regularly adding new quests, creatures, and items, the game will never truly end.
Is there a party system for group adventuring?
Yes.
How large is the party size for players?
The maximum number for a party is five players, and the game is generally balanced for groups of five. Smaller groups can still be quite successful, and regardless of the group's size, everyone in the group will be able to make important contributions. You can also link groups together in order to form larger parties for raids or guild activities.
Are there ways to gain experience in the game besides fighting?
Yes, there are ways to gain experience other than by fighting. Exploring is just one example of how you can gain experience; a character can receive experience by simply finding a new area (for your character) within the game. You also gain experience by turning in quests.
How does group experience work?
All players in a group share experience for a kill. However, to offset the lesser experience that comes from grouping, all players in the group also get a group xp bonus depending on the number of players in the group. You gain more experience for kills if you group with players closer to your level, while you gain less if you group with players vastly higher than you in level.
How can you hook up with your friends of different races early in the game?
For some races it's easier than others. For example, the humans and dwarves will have an easy transit between their two cities, while the night elves will find it harder to meet with their Alliance brethren early in the game as they are off in a distant land.
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